News Highlights: urgency resolution Eritrea, EU ‘reducing migration’, violence in South Sudan

In this week’s news highlights, the European Parliament is about to vote on an urgency resolution about Eritrea, mainly the cases of Patriarch Abune Antonios and journalist Dawit Isaak; the European Commission released new proposals for ‘reducing migration pressures’ in the Central Mediterranean Route; U.S. carried out a drone strike in Somalia aimed at Al-Shabaab; the African Union will send a delegation to Eritrea to discuss the dispute with Djibouti; Amnesty International warns of brutal atrocities in South Sudan; and UNHCR released a new report on mixed migration in Libya.

Mandate of UN Special Rapporteur on Eritrea extended through resolution in Human Rights Council

At the 35th session of the UN Human Rights Council, a resolution on Eritrea has been adopted that extends the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Eritrea, Ms. Sheila Keetharuth, for another year. The resolution also expresses deep concern for the human rights situation in Eritrea, and urges the Eritrean government to implement the recommendations of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea (COIE).

EU and African Union: building a future-proof partnership

The European Union started this week with a Foreign Affairs Council centered on the relations between the EU and Africa. More specifically, the 28 EU foreign affairs ministers discussed the relations with the African Union and the future of this partnership, as well as the core issues on which this cooperation will focus.